


Dying Alone

by Emily_F6



Series: Penny Parker Prompts [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Whump, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26158933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: It had been nearly a year and a half since Penny had talked to Tony Stark.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Penny Parker Prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899553
Comments: 4
Kudos: 217





	Dying Alone

It had been nearly a year and a half since Penny had talked to Tony Stark. A year and a half after the awful fight that had ended with her storming out of the tower, leaping from the roof and swinging away for good. She’d removed the tracker in her suit and tossed it into a dumpster not long after, still wearing the suit but keeping an eye out for Iron Man nearby.

The ground underneath her was cold and stiff, the dark alley empty. Dark. No one was around...people had already gone home for the night. She should have gone home for the night. Home to MJ’s. Blood pooled underneath her, warm then cold, and she shuddered, tears dripping down her cheeks and onto the ground under her head.

The fight had started with an order. “Don’t you dare leave this room, Penny Parker.”

May had been dead for a little over two months, and at just eighteen, Penny had been too old to be assigned a guardian or taken into a foster home. Instead, she’d faced homelessness until Mr. Stark had insisted she stay with him at the Tower. To be honest, she hadn’t really faced homelessness. Mr. Stark had come to the hospital right away...as soon as Ned had called him. Not her. Ned had been worried at her silence and worried at the fact that she didn’t have a job and couldn’t afford an apartment.

But she’d just been mad.

Ever since she’d returned from the soul stone...ever since waking up on Titan in Mr. Stark’s arms, she’d felt different. Fragile and on the verge of falling apart at the slightest thing. Of course, Mr. Stark had tried to get her to talk about it. Most of the Avengers had at one point or another, although Mr. Stark was the only one she’d really talked to. And she’d tried. She’d tried to explain how she felt. Tried to vent. Tried not to keep it all inside. But it hasn't always worked. She had still felt so...volatile. Fragile, like a chemical reaction about to explode. So when a break-in at their apartment barely a year after her return to the land of the living had ended with May being shot and Penny finding her after patrols...it had been like every fiber of her being had been focused on finding the person responsible and making them pay.

Of course, Tony had been worried. Hell, he’d been worried from the very start, when she’d come back from the soul stone alone with half of the world’s population, scared and angry and crying more than she ever had before. But after May, it had been worse. So much worse. For two months, her last two months of high school, she had gone off the rails, and he had done everything in his power to help her. Looking back, she felt a wave of shame every time she thought about how she’d acted.

First, she’d refused to go back to school.

“That’s fine, kiddo. You can finish your work here.”

Then she’d refused to do the work.

“Okay. I’ll pull some strings...you can still go to MIT if you want.

Then she'd refused to go to college.

“Alright...maybe it’s too soon. That’s fine. You can stay here. Take some time. There’s no rush, kiddo.”

Then she’d gotten a name. A single-minded fury had overtaken her. This was May. Her aunt, who had been more like her mother, and Lucas Erickson had killed her over less than $100 and a couple of pieces of jewelry. And he was going to pay for that.

“Look, we’ll go to the police. I’ll make sure he pays for this, Penny. But you can’t go after him.” She’d been in her room at the Tower, pulling her mask over her face, him standing less than five feet away, sounding desperate.

“Watch me.” She’d spoken to him like that for months, and every time his lips had pursed, but then he’d take a deep breath and try to reason with her.

“Honey, you don’t want to do that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Pen…”

“He deserves to pay.” The soul stone...blank orange and emptiness and fear...the feeling would come over her at the strangest times, and it had them.

“You’re right. He does. But you don’t have to do this. Not alone. I’ll make sure he’s arrested. He’ll spend the rest of his life in jail. But if you do this, you’ll regret it. Trust me!” He’d had reached out for her arm, but she’d jerked away, storming toward her open window. “Penny!” She hadn’t even hesitated. Finally, he had raised his voice. “Don’t you dare leave this room, Penny Parker.”

She’d whirled. “You aren’t my father, Tony!” She’d snapped, glaring at him through the lenses of the mask. “You’re not my anything!”

Those had been the last words she’d spoken to him. She could still see his face in her mind. Heartbreak. Betrayal. And the moment she’d said them, she’d regretted those terrible words.

She’d been too ashamed to go back.

For fifteen months she bounced from place to place. First, she’d stayed with Ned, but then he’d gone to college. Then a month on the street, still fighting crime and doing her best to make money by taking pictures of herself and selling them to a newspaper that hated her.

Tony only tried to call her once.

She’d lived in a cheap, terrible apartment that was robbed twice while she was out patrolling. She hadn’t had anything worth taking, anyway. Then the streets again. Then another crappy apartment with no heat that had evicted her after two months when she hadn’t been able to make rent.

At the moment, as she lay bleeding out in the street, leg impaled on a piece of metal rebar, she had been on her way to MJ’s place, which she was allowed to crash at whenever ever since her friend had found out she was homeless.

The man had been enhanced, with alien weapons. And she’d fought with everything she’d had.

He’d thrown her off a building and left her for dead.

Staring at the sky between rooftops, she pressed a weak hand against her side. Stab wound. Broken ribs. Leg impaled on a foreign object that had just barely missed her kneecap. “Karen?” She whispered.

She’d muted Karen on her way to Lucas Erickson. She hadn’t spoken to her since. “Hello, Penny. It’s verygood to speak to you again.”

“You too, Karen.” She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“You appear to have several serious injuries. Would you like me to call Mr. Stark?”

“Yes.” She sobbed. “Yes please.”

The phone rang five times, and just as she’d resigned herself to leaving a message, he picked up.

“Hello?” He asked, cautious.

The tears wouldn’t stop, and Penny pressed a weak hand to her mouth. “Mr. Stark?” She’d lost the right to call him Tony. Lost the right to have him care about her. But she had to apologize before it was too late.

“Yeah, Penny. Are you alright?” He had been so kind, and she’d thrown it all in his face.

“I’m...I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I’m...I’m so sorry. I ruined everything. I know...I know I did. I screwed everything up and you were just trying to help and I…”. She couldn’t speak anymore through the sobs, terrible, ugly noises escaping her mouth.

“Hey, take it easy, Pen. I know you were upset. I forgave you a long time ago…”

“You were like my father. I lied...I said you weren’t my dad but you were.” Somehow he understood that despite the constant sobs.

“You’re my kid, Penny. Nothing could change that.” He gave a sad laugh. “I’m just glad to hear from you, kiddo.”

“I didn’t kill him.” She choked out. “I...I left him for the cops. I promise.”

“I know you did. I was so proud of you.” Things were fading...she wasn’t going to last much longer. But he kept talking. “Why don’t you come by the tower? We can talk in person. I’ve missed you, Pen.”

“I’m so sorry.” She sobbed again, “I couldn’t...I had to tell you.”

There was a brief silence. “You couldn’t what? Penny, are you okay?” She kept crying, feeling more and more detached. “Penny? Where are you?”

“I had to tell you before...before I couldn’t,”

“What? Why couldn’t you? Penny?!”

“I’m sorry. I ruined everything and I’m so sorry.”

“Penny! Tell me where you are. I’m coming to get you, okay?”

“I had to say goodbye,”

“No!” He practically screamed. “No goodbye! You’ve gotta stay with me, Penny! Please!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.” She whispered, eyes starting to close. She let them. “I’m sorry for what I said and how I acted and...I’m just so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you. I forgive you, honey. Can you tell me what happened? Where are you?” She couldn’t remember.

“He was enhanced.” She murmured, slurring a little. “Stronger...like me and...the knife…”

“Knife? Friday, can you connect to Karen?”

“I love you.” She sobbed, shivering on the cold ground. “I just needed you to know. I love you so much.” And then she couldn’t talk anymore. Couldn’t muster up the energy to form words.

“It’s okay, Pen. I’m on my way.” That was nice, she guessed, but she couldn’t make herself care too much as she let herself fall asleep.

Hands touching her face woke her, slipping under the mask and easing it up over her face. “Penny? Hey, kiddo. Talk to me.”

“Shit, Tony...her leg…” Someone else said.

“Do it now...while she’s unconscious.” Mr. Stark ordered. Was she unconscious? It didn’t seem like she was. But her eyes were closed and didn’t seem to want to open. “I’m here. Just rest, honey. I’m here.” Her leg shifted and she heard more than felt herself scream. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He’s going as fast as he can.” She screamed again, and in some part of her brain, she knew it hurt, but finally, someone lifted her with cold metal arms, and then they were flying.

When she was finally laid down on a soft bed, the sharp smell of antiseptic burning her nostrils, she managed to open her eyes, meeting Mr. Stark’s. He cupped a hand over her cheek. “You with me, honey?” She nodded as someone pressed something to her side where she’d been stabbed. “You’re going to be okay. I promise. The doctors are going to fix you up.”

“Where?” She asked, swallowing hard. “Where are we?”

“You’re in the Medbay at the tower.” She shook her head, remembering the last time she’d been at the tower. He’d taken her in. He’d tried to help her. But she’d been so damn angry and now..she could never make it up to him.

“I should go.” She whispered.

“No.” He spoke firmly, brushing some of her hair back. “No. You’re not going anywhere. You have to let them look at your leg. You just rest.”

“I don’t deserve to be here. Not after what I did.” She sobbed, eyes slipping shut.

He gripped her hand. “Don’t worry about any of that right now, honey.”

“But I said…”

“Kid, I don’t even remember all the shit I said to the people I cared about after my parents died. I get it. You were hurting. I understand. I know you didn’t mean it.” Sobbing, she pressed her lips together and let him hold her hand. “I’m right here. You’re going to be okay.”

“I...I need to call MJ. I’m staying with her…”

“Okay. I’ll have Friday call her. You just rest right now.” She sniffed, squeezing his hand.

“I love you.” She whispered. “You...you were always like my dad and I love you...and I’m sorry.”

“I love you too, honey.” He whispered, and, feeling something in her heart start to mend after over a year of constant pain, she finally let herself rest.


End file.
